Crutches
by yorkie-s
Summary: When Quinn goes off to a party, Bobby follows to keep an eye on her. But something goes wrong; like it always does.


"I've really had it with your stupid, stupid, stupid Bobby-esc ways!" the young girl growled, annoyed.

This had been the third time Bobby had come into her room, only to stare at her, glare, sigh, smile, growl, and then leave the same way he had come. Ever since that…accident, Bobby had been more paternal and protective than normal. All in all, it really wasn't that big of a deal; well to her at least. If she was a boy, like the rest of her brothers, it would probably have been a normal, everyday occurrence; but she wasn't, and so by association the occurrence wasn't normal. Peachy.

Bobby came back in just then for the umpteenth time; if anything repetition was his strongest point. She sighed, and then began mimicking his every move. Starring, glaring, sighing, smiling, and then growling in sync with her oldest brother. He changed patterns and arched an eye brow at her, glaring.

"You mocking me?" he asked in obvious frustration.

She giggled; he was so easy some days. "If you're going to waste all your energy coming up stairs then why don't you just take me down to the couch?" she began sitting up in her bed. She had been in her and Jack's shared room for the past three days and, quite frankly, she was beginning to go a little loopy.

"Oh no." Bobby stated flatly, coming over to lay her back down on her bed. "You need your rest."

"Rest?" this time she arched her eye brow. "I've been 'resting' forever! I need air! It's suffocating in this room!" she dramatized chocking on the air in the room, flailing backwards on her bed. "I'm going to start going crazy soon, and I may soon end up like crazy Aunt Mildred!"

"Aunt who?" Bobby asked, confused by her exclamations.

"Exactly!" she left it at that.

_Weird girl_ was all Bobby could think at this moment. Maybe she really did need some air. With a gruff sigh, he gently slipped one arm under the crook of her knees, careful of the cast that she brandished, and the other under her back and gently hoisted her up. Leaving the room, they began a painfully slow descent down the stairs; going as smoothly as Bobby's 'tough guy' swagger would allow. Upon reaching the bottom, Bobby made a straight line for the couch, gently laying her on the end.

She smiled up at him, glad for the change of scenery. Jack was good company, but he had school most of the time, thus leaving her to be her own company for many long hours during the day. Her other brothers, Angle and Jerry were also rarely there. Angel was off doing God knows what, or God knows who. Most likely seeing that pretty little Latina down the road. Sophie was nice enough, but she was a tad…eccentric; in both actions and speech to put it nicely. Her other brothers only put up with her because they loved Angel, and some days even that wasn't enough. That Latina could hold her own against Bobby though, she wasn't scared of him; which is lucky for her. Jerry was usually the more sympathetic with Angel, but only because he didn't actually have to live in the same house as him and put up with her coming over incessantly. Jerry, the lucky butt, had his own house and his own kids and his own wife to occupy his time. She could give it to Jerry though, he did make some pretty cute kids; and he did come over to visit routinely every week – every day – whenever his job as a father or as a business man permitted him too.

"You hungry?" Bobby asked, pulling her out of her stupor. She nodded, reaching for her crutches. "That is where I draw the line, Quinn." He said flatly, grabbing them before she could and dropping them conveniently out of her short reach.

Quinn glared at him; he was so thick headed some days. "Bobby, this isn't going to improve if I'm anchored to the couch or bed for the entire time." She said gesturing to the black cast on her leg. "I'm not gonna try going outside, or running a marathon, or saving the world; I just want to be able to feed myself, or go pee on my own. I'm a big girl, I can handle that much."

Bobby sighed and shook his head. She was so thick headed some days. She had gotten hurt stupidly and he could only blame himself for that.

Bobby had been at that party for hours, determined to keep an eye on his sister; inconspicuously. It was one of those stupid teen, high school parties where everyone was drinking, and dancing, and doing it just because they could. If these kids were a few years older, it would probably be his scene, but he could hardly bat an eye at any of these girls without Quinn's face popping into his head. Angrily, he sifted through the drunken teens, eyes ever watchful for danger, and his sister. She had been very adamantly clear about not wanting to see him there.

"Bobby, I'm going to my friend Alice's party. Mom has already cleared it so don't go giving me that look!" she stopped him short as a rant was ready to roll off his tongue. She knew him better than he thought. Living with the Mercer's since she was seven had given her ample time to learn to read the subtle facial expressions of her brother's; and she was a good study.

Bobby stood over her, watching as she slipped her feet into her torn blue converse. She loved them too much to throw them out. Bobby knew what went on at these high school parties, and he couldn't believe that their mother had agreed to let her go.

"You're too young to be going to these parties!" Bobby said, almost sulkily, knowing there was nothing he could do to prevent her from going; not with mom still in the house.

Quinn had stood upright at that, looking him square in the face. "I'm seventeen!"

"So?" he retorted stubbornly.

"You went to parties when you were twelve!"

"That's neither here nor there, Quinn. I'm the oldest and I say you aren't going." He folded his arms across his chest and glowered down at her.

"Watch me." She said and grabbed her sweater before flinging open the door and running to where her friend had parked their car on the curb. "And I don't want to see you at the party tonight!" she called before closing the car door behind her.

Bobby had just watched annoyed as they drove away; thus why he was at the party now. Quinn had never said he couldn't be there; just that she didn't want to see him there. Which was why he sifted through the throngs of drunk teens, most who reeked of pot and cheep booze. He finally spotted her, sitting on some couch beside some guy Bobby had never seen before. He began walking closer to get a better look at the punk, when an all too familiar and loud voice stopped him.

"Mercer!" the voice bellowed from the top of the stairs.

_That _Alice's party. Bobby knew he recognized the name, but he couldn't have been bothered with it when it really could have mattered.

The voice, which was attached to the large body of Julian Miles, was Alice's older, and stupider, brother. He had had beef with Bobby ever since Bobby, Jerry, Angel, and Jack had beaten him and his consort of idiots a few weeks back. Julian was out for blood; nothing Bobby was overly worried about. He'd dealt with bigger, and uglier, than Julian. He was small fry.

"Hiya Julian," Bobby said, acutely aware how the music had turned down, and the dancing had stopped.

"Hiya Bobby," Julian repeated the greeting, clunking down the stairs towards Bobby.

"Yeah, hiya Bobby," Quinn mimicked, now only a foot away from Bobby. Pleasant. "I thought I told you not to come!"

"No, you said you didn't want to see me here." He said pointedly; smirking when her frown deepened.

"Mercer!" Julian yelled louder, due to his now very apparent closeness. He grinned evilly, grinding his teeth together as he got closer and closer to Bobby. "You're gonna get it now, Mercer. The Michigan Mauler is going down!" He cracked his knuckles, a brutish show of strength and power and dicklessness.

Bobby rolled his eyes, briefly turning his attention to his sister. "Step back," He said, moving into his fighting stance. He could take Julian, and the two stupid looking lackeys that trailed behind him.

"Are you delusional?" Quinn asked, crossing her arms.

"Delusional?" Bobby asked, giving her a weird look.

"Yes, delusional! Idiotic, moronic, fool hardy, lacking judgment!"

"Shut up, Techie, go back to your laptop!

"Hey, leave my laptop out of this!"

"Are we done yet?" Julian asked, right before throwing the first punch.

Quinn danced backwards slightly, trying to not get tangled in on the brawl. She sighed. Well, this was, pleasant. She was about to turn and walk in the opposite direction and leave Bobby to his own devices, when something flew out of the air and hit her upside the head. Her head snapped to the side for an instant as she searched quickly for what had hit her. Almost unsurprisingly it was a hand with a body attached to it; as is how they usually are. Alice stood a foot from her, glaring wildly. This could be problematic.

"Mercer!" she screamed in her annoyingly high pitched, nasally voice.

Quinn couldn't honestly say she liked this tiny little girl in front of her, and had only gone to the party because Quinn's friend really wanted her too. She honestly never talked to Alice, but she knew the girl had a deep rooted dislike for her; one that Quinn blamed on Bobby and Julian.

"Who told you you could come to my party!" she demanded, borderline temper tantrum now.

Quinn rolled her eyes, rubbing her cheek where the bitch had slapped her. She wasn't as prone to violence as her brothers, regardless of how long she had been living with them; but this girl was pushing her closer to homicidal maniac than Bobby ever had. She took a steadying breath and faced the girl head on.

"What do you want, Alice?" she asked, squaring her shoulders.

"You dead!" The girl screamed in a very, very high pitched voice Quinn was sure that only a few humans and most dogs could hear.

Quinn just rolled her eyes; this was actually going to be pretty easy. Once the girl-squirrel cross breed was in reach, she stuck out the palm of her hand, jabbing it hard into Alice's nose. There was a very audible _crunch _sound. The girl squealed, almost higher than before, one hand over her now broken nose, blood dripping everywhere. The party had effectively come to a stop, a large circle now formed around the small cohort. Lovely.

Alice, regaining what she could of her already pathetic valor, charged Quinn again. Some people only learn with repetition. With quick movements, Quinn grabbed the front of the girl's shirt and slammed her hard into the floor. There was a slight gurgled cry before the girl fell silent; unconscious. With one Miles out of the way, Quinn turned her attention to Bobby. It probably wasn't going so great. Julian's two friends had both of Bobby's arms and held him while Julian used Bobby's abdomen as a punching bag. Quinn gritted her teeth, a copper taste filling her mouth as she watched. This was about all she could take. She took off at a dead sprint, colliding into Julian's large body, rock solid beneath his sweater, and they both went toppling out the living room window a few feet away.

Quinn wasn't much a fan of falling out of first floors, let alone second ones. Somehow, during the fall, she and Julian had gotten tangled up together and hit the ground hard; most of Julian's weight centered on Quinn's left leg. The snapping sound was different from when she had punched Alice in the nose, and most likely hurt ten times as much. The pain was white hot, shooting up her and down her leg, leaving it numb and throbbing. Julian, almost completely unharmed in the fall, staggered to his feet, accidently kicking her leg as he did. She let out a large scream that gurgled in the back of her throat. When her scream died off, she looked up in time to see Julian standing over her, a bewildered look on his face. Unbeknownst to Julian, Bobby had heard the scream and promptly finished off the two lackeys, and was now flying out the window, down to where Julian stood over Bobby's baby sister.

Quinn was too dazed by the pain in her leg and the several glass shards that were digging deep into her all over to really concentrate on what Bobby was doing to Julian. She blacked out long before he was done, she was sure, and didn't wake up for a long time after. When she did finally come too, she was lying in a hospital bed, apparently two days later, brandishing a shiny new black cast on her leg. Bobby was furious, more so at himself than at her. Evelyn was worrying over her in that way she does, and her other brothers were praising her on her first fight; one she would have very much liked to have had avoided. She certainly didn't feel as accomplished as they made it sound like she should have been.

She was allowed back home the next day, the cast to be her bestest friend for the next three weeks. Bobby dutifully stayed home to 'take care' of her; guilt and frustration fueling these out of character actions. Quinn was able to suck it up for the first few days, but by day three, she was getting border line loopy.

Quinn sighed and stretched out her hand, palm up, towards Bobby; silently demanding the crutches. He silently refused, arms crossed over his chest, but the determined look in her eyes eventually forced him to give in. He handed her the crutches, but insisted on helping her up. Quinn didn't protest, this being the first time using them, she was slightly unsure of how it was all going to go over. When she was up, and stable, she and Bobby made the slow procession to the kitchen. Quinn plunked down at the table and eagerly ate whatever Bobby gave her. She could at least let him feel like he was taking care of the situation.

She was quite, deep in thought while she ate. From what she had heard from her brothers, Bobby had finished Julian off pretty good. He was apparently worse off than she was; and she was pretty bad off as far as she was concerned. That was probably going to be the last party she would ever be invited too; even by her friends. She barely noticed that she wasn't actually eating anymore; she was just moving the food around on her plate. She wondered how Alice's face was doing. There was a lot of blood when she hit her. Boy could that girl scream.

All the while she was thinking Bobby was watching her intently. She was a peculiar girl. She wasn't as rash as the rest of the Mercers were. She preferred to sit at her computer or on the couch reading a book than going out to play hockey like the rest of the Mercers. She wasn't violent like the rest of the Mercers. Hell, she was more like Ma than the rest of the Mercers. She sure as hell didn't fit the Mercer mold, but…maybe that was why she fit so well. There really wasn't a 'mold' for this family. They were all just royal screw ups; broken molds, the lot of them. The system had broken each of them, but she had managed to come out the other end…a nerd. Weird.

"Hey, eat," Bobby ordered, flicking her ear. She snapped her head up and gave him a soft glare before taking a large bite. She grinned with her mouth full. "What, did you grow up in a barn?" Bobby commented, grabbing a beer from the fridge.

"Yesh," Quinn replied; mouth still full. "No legit I did. There was this one time, when I was…six? Maybe seven. I ran away from a foster house, but a house rule was that I wasn't allowed to leave the property. Being seven, I figured I was stuck there because I wasn't allowed to leave or I would get into trouble. I know, stupid kid eh?" She giggled, watching Bobby's eye brows arch as he laughed at her stupidity. "I was seven!" she said, trying to defend her younger self. "Anyways, they just so happened to live on a ranch…farm thing so, I figured that since I couldn't leave the property, I would hide in the barn. That went over really well for a few hours. I think they knew where I was, because they searched for a bit, then faked giving up. By the time dinner rolled around, I was too hungry to stay in the barn so…you know…" She smiled widely again, amused by Bobby's amusement in her younger, stupider self.

"Damn Techie, how'd you ever turn out to be as smart as you are now?" He asked, leaning back in his chair.

Quinn laughed and mimicked his motions. "I went to a house where they were stupider than me."

"You little punk," He laughed loudly, getting up and going to where she sat, wrapping his thick arm around her head and giving her a noogie.

"No! You can't beat a cripple!" she half yelled while laughing, trying to pry Bobby's arm off her head.

"You're not a cripple. I once took down five guys with my left hand broken!"

"I can kill you with my mind!" she tried to scare him off. It didn't work.

To Quinn's sheer luck, Jack, Angel, and Jerry all walked into the kitchen, all dumbstruck by Bobby abusing their sister.

She looked up at them pleadingly, "Help, he said he'd kill me unless I called him 'the Mighty Ruler!' And now he's trying to melt my brain!" she squinted when Bobby noogied her harder.

"Should we do anything guys?" Jack asked, looking at his brothers. The other two just shrugged, and went about their business. "Looks like you're on your own there, little sis."

"Oh, oh, nice, nice. Leave me to perish at the hands of an egotistical psycho! Peachy. Moms gonna love that."

"What Ma don't know won't kill her." Angel called from inside the fridge as he rummaged for a beer.

"I was safer in the barn." She mumbled, trying to pry Bobby off her head now. He eventually let off, and she took a huge, dramatic gulp of air. "AIR! Clean, fresh, un-polluted by man stink air!"

"Shut up, you little Techie." Bobby laughed, going to sit in the chair beside Jerry.

"You just wait Bobby! Once this leg is healed, I will give you a run for your money!" She said, trying to fix her messy hair.

"Sure sister, sure, sure."

She scrunched up her nose at him, then laughed as she reached for her crutches. The whole room suddenly sprang in her direction. Four pairs of hands were suddenly on her crutches, holding them just out of her reach. All four of her brothers were looking at her, all with the same 'hell no' expression painted clearly on their faces.

She sighed, there was almost no way to win with them. Almost.

"I have to pee." She said, giving them a sideways glance.

The crutches clattered loudly to the floor. Quinn grinned.

Victory!

* * *

There we go! This is a small, short story from a cluster of parts of a bigger story i started with the same character. Gonna see how this goes over before i decide to put up any more.

Hope you liked!

Yorkie-s


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